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Posted: June 22, 2017 1:21 PM

FINAL PRESS RELEASE - THE ABBEY HOTEL MOONRAKER FORESTRY RALLY 2017

Posted: April 11, 2017 4:23 PM

Ger Seaman Clerk of the Course for this year’s Abbey Hotel Ballyvourney Moonraker Forestry Rally would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who helped make this year’s rally probably one of the best forestry rallies to date in the island of Ireland.

Speaking today from his Cork base Ger stated 'I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the marshall’s/ Officials/ Time Keepers who came from far and wide to help run the event, Chief Marshall Declan O’Leary, the stage commander’s who set up these fantastic stages and ran them faultlessly all day, the work these lads have put in prior to and during the event has been immense. My own team my deputy C.O.C Paul Browne , Assistant’s Jim Murphy, Kevin O’Riordan and Brian Manning as well as Club Safety officer Colman Hegarty, Club Steward Brian McCarthy who were my extra eyes and ears on the build up to and during the rally. The Office team who ran the paperwork side of the event, The Service area team and all the members of the Munster Car Club, also our neighbouring Clubs who came out in force to get the day running smoothly'.

Ger added the one thing that this rally has is it's fantastic sponsors the Creedon Family of the Abbey Hotel Ballyvourney main sponsor and event H.Q and also club member and secondary sponsor Neil Phelan from Acesigns Cork, the Stage sponsors and all the programme advertisers without their financial contribution it would not be possible to run an event as big as the Moonraker we thank you most sincerely and would urge crews and fan’s to support our sponsors where possible.

Finally I would like to thank each and every competitor who gave their time and money to put in an entry so as to put on this show and on behalf of the Munster Car Club we are very grateful and we hope to see you back next year with some new tweeks to be added.

The Abbey Hotel Ballyvourney Forestry Rally Run and promoted by the Munster Car Club Ltd, Round 2 of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Rally Championship, Round 2 of the SuirwayGroup South East Stages Rally Championship and a counting round of the Munster car club championship.

Video Reports

Posted: April 11, 2017 3:12 PM

Keith is the Moonraker King - Josh Rakes in the Points! 2017 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship-Round Two

Posted: April 11, 2017 3:09 PM

The 2017 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship got back into gear on Sunday for its second round, the Munster Motor Club's Moonraker Rally based in Ballyvourney, County Cork. Fine dry weather blessed the event, which proved to be a real hit with the competitors, as winner Keith Cronin in his R5 Fiesta summed up. "The stages were brilliant, and it was a well-run event, very enjoyable" said the Bantry driver. Keith won by a twenty second margin, his only dramas being an intercom failure and clipping a chicane on stage one, but the real focus was on the battle for second and top Valvoline points.

Josh Moffett, fresh from his ERC Rally Azores podium last weekend, borrowed his brother Sam's R5 Fiesta, as his own is still en-route back from the Azores. The young Monaghan man was close to Cronin all day despite a wrong tyre choice costing a few seconds in the middle loop. Second place and maximum points was a fine result. "I am delighted with maximum points, and it was very enjoyable, a lot less pressure than last weekend. Keith was pushing hard at the front and all the boys were pushing on. Adapting to Sam's car wasn't a problem, and I'm pretty much happier I did especially with the cuts we were talking! " joked the former forestry champion at the Abbey Hotel finish. Just four seconds behind in third with the WRC Fiesta, Sam Moffett took a little bit of time to get into a rhythm in the morning, but was right on it by the end of the day. "Fantastic stages, it was a great day" said Sam who completed a Fiesta 1-2-3. "There was a really hot pace, and it feels a lot higher than last year. I'm looking forward to round three in Donegal. Hopefully by the middle of the year we can get a win or two, as Josh has already deprived me of two wins!" 2016 Valvoline champion- Desi Henry in the Skoda R5 was another impressed with both the stages and pace as he slotted into fourth just six seconds back from Sam having had a good consistent run all day.

Adrian Hetherington claimed fifth in the WRC Corolla, although some distance back from the charging front four, with local man Ger Lucey a fine sixth with his Evo 8, despite a slow start. Jonny Leonard brought his Group A Evo 6 home in seventh, just a few seconds in front of Group N winner Jordan Hone in his Evo 9. The young Dungiven driver won the BTRDA 1400 Championship in England last year and the switch to four wheel drive is proving successful. Second in Group N was Cathan McCourt, twenty-eight seconds ahead of brother Conor both in Evo 9's, with Ashley Dickson fourth in his similar machine.Ninth on the overall leader-board was Liam Regan in his Peugeot 206 4x4. The Belfast driver had been battling with Jonny Leonard for seventh until clutch issues intervened. Completing the top ten was Barry McKenna, using the McGeehan hire Mini WRC.

The Valvoline two-wheel drive category looked set to be a battle between the MK2 Escort with 2 litre Vauxhall power of Comber's David Crossen and Castleblayney's Mickey Conlon. David opened the day by taking ten seconds off Mickey who was getting used to a rebuilt engine, but had no real answer to his Escort rival who stormed to twelfth overall and a thirty five second 2wd win. "Our only drama was a broken rear link on stage three, which the service crew fixed quickly. We had a great day's rallying on great stages, thanks to the crew and Damien in the co-driver's seat for doing a good job" said David as he scooped maximum category points again.

The Valvoline Junior section, where the crews are competing for an automatic Motorsport Ireland Billy Coleman Award nomination at the season's end, provided an epic fight between the registered crews as Stephen Dickson in the R2 Fiesta took a narrow 2.8 second victory over Shane Kenneally in the Honda Civic."We had a very slow start" explained Stephen. "I was very happy to get that result after our final stage charge as it now leaves myself and Shane equal on points going into the third round in Donegal." Derek Mackeral sadly retired again in his repaired Nova, whilst former N.I Junior 1000 champion-William Creighton took the class 16 honours and seventeenth overall in his Peugeot 208 R2 but is not registered for points. Other class winners were on the event were: Seamus Heaney (Honda Civic)- class 1, Cal McCarthy (Citroen C2)-class2, Ruari Maguire (Vauxhall Corsa)-class 9, Tom Murphy- (MK2 Escort)-class 10, Michael Feehey (Honda Integra)-class 11F, Chris Benskin (MK2 Escort)-class 11R, Chris Simms (MK2 Escort)-class 12, Marc Johnston(MK2 Escort)-class 19.

The new M. O'Brien Plant Hire Junior 1000 class for 16-18 year olds, entered its second round on the Moonraker and once again the Peugeot 107's of Alex Byrne and Jason Murphy lined up to do battle. And quite a battle it was, as just half a second separated round one winner Jason, and Alex on stage one. On the second test the pressure was off as Alex made a mistake dropping three minutes, but the roles were reversed on stage three when Jason's 107 suffered a mechanical problem, taking a stage maximum and re-joining the event under Super-Rally. That left Alex Byrne and James Fogarty with a clear victory. "I was a little cautious after our moment this morning, but we got it going again this afternoon. It was a great experience, very flowing stages to drive" commented young Alex at the finish. With a fabulous prize of a drive in an R2 car on a 2018 Irish Forest Rally round, entry vouchers for the top three on each round: Eur200 euro to first place, Eur125 euro to 2nd place and Eur75 euro to third place and Ears Motorsport putting up tyres as prizes it's all to go for, as the C-Sport run crews now tie on points heading for the third Junior 1000 foray in May.

Following an exciting first round of the 2017 Valvoline Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship on the Willie Loughman Memorial Forest Rally, where just 0.6 of a second separated the winner Josh Moffett and brother Sam Moffett in their R5 Fiesta's, round two is shaping up to be just as exciting. Saturday will see the forest rally crews tackle the classic Moonraker Rally stages as Clerk of the course Ger Seaman and his team from the Munster Car Club have assembled an eight stage event which has attracted an impressive entry.

Many are making the journey for the Ballyvourney start and the four wheel drive field is bulging. Round one winner Josh Moffett is returning from a truly heroic performance on the European Rally Championship Rally Azores event, where he finished an excellent third overall and with this sort of match fitness and pace in his R5 Fiesta, he will be very difficult for anyone to beat. However his brother Sam will be looking to avenge the round one result, and the older of the two Monaghan siblings has often come out on top, and he has entered in their WRC Fiesta, and the advantage in power could be a help on the fast sections. It's a fabulous Fabia R5 starting at number one however, as 2016 Valvoline champion, and winner of last year's Moonraker - Desi Henry will lead the field away. The Skoda R5 ranks are backed up by Marty McCormack's appearance in his R5 Fabia, and he is becoming more used to his new mount, a big change from last year's Super 2000. Four wheel drive technology of a different era in the shape of the Toyota Corolla WRC is being represented by Adrian Hetherington - eager for his first 4wd win and John Reid's example, but can these cars of the 90's compete with the modern R5 machines? The Mitsubishi Evo brigade is being led away by local hero Ger Lucey in his venerable Evo 8, and Ger is never to be discounted. Jonny Leonard, Conor McCourt and Dermot Kelly are amongst the other Evo runners who could throw a cat amongst the pigeons, whilst Belfast's Liam Regan is back in the series with the Evo engined Peugeot 206 4x4.

The Valvoline two-wheel drive battle started off with Comber's David Crossen in the MK2 Escort as victor on round one, staving off a challenge from John Gordon and Shane McGirr who broke down on the third stage. So far on this round, his main challenge looks to be coming from former champion Micky Conlon, as John Gordon is away on holiday, and Shane McGirr has yet to enter. Shane used the Toyota Starlet successfully last weekend on a forest event in the Isle of Man finishing third overall and first two wheel drive.

The Valvoline Junior section in the main field is shaping up to be a titanic race, as they chase that Billy Coleman Award nomination. Round one victor Shane Kenneally in his Honda Civic will be a key runner, as will Stephen Dickson in the R2 Fiesta. However the ever rapid Derek Mackeral needs points on the board after a first round non-finish in his Vauxhall Nova, and adding to the class sixteen mix are the entries of David Beamish in his Vauxhall Corsa and William Creighton in the Peugeot 208 R2.

The new M. O'Brien Plant Hire Junior 1000 class for 16-18 year olds, made it's debut on the Carrick On Suir Forest event, and Jason Murphy took victory in his Peugeot 107 ahead of the similar C-Sport machine of Alex Byrne. Both are competing again and looking forward to have a real go on the Moonraker stages. The possible rally stars of the future will be watching with interest the fortunes of WRC driver's Craig Breen and Kris Meeke on the tarmac of Corsica this weekend, as the Junior 1000 class enables young rally driver's to gain a real head start for their future rallying careers. With a fabulous prize of a drive in an R2 car on a 2018 Irish Forest Rally round, entry vouchers for the top three on each round: Eur 200 euro to first place, Eur 125 euro to 2nd place and Eur 75 euro to third place and Ears Motorsport putting up tyres as prizes, it's a very inviting class which is set to grow during it's induction year.

Early Incentive Entry Closes this Friday St. Patrick's Day the 17th March

Posted: March 15, 2017 7:52 AM

Don't forget to get those entries in! The date for the early incentive is this Friday St. Patrick's Day the 17th March so get posting!
Entry forms and regulations are available to download below:

The Abbey Hotel Moonraker Forestry Rally 2017 - Press Release No.6

Posted: March 10, 2017 8:56 AM

It is now just over four weeks until the Abbey Hotel Moonraker Forestry Rally 2017 takes place on Saturday the 8th April in Ballyvourney, Co.Cork.
Entries are steadily flowing in and there is a top class line up with buoyant entries in all classes.
The Abbey Hotel Moonraker Forestry Rally is taking place before the second round of the British Rally Championship so this is an ideal opportunity for crews to test.
The Abbey Hotel Moonraker Forestry Rally is Round 2 of the 2017 Valvoline Irish Forestry Rally Championship, Round 2 of the Suirway Group South East Stages Rally Championship and is also a counting round of the Munster Car Club Championship.

Don't forget to get those entries in and also a reminder that the date for the early incentive is Friday the 17th March which is fast approaching! Entry forms and regulations are available to download on the club website

We look forward to seeing you all in what is set to be one of the best Forestry Rallies of 2017!

PRESS RELEASE NO.5

Posted: February 22, 2017 10:52 AM

Ballyvourney was the place to be last Saturday evening for the Launch of the 2017 Munster Car Club's Forestry event the Abbey Hotel Moonraker Forestry Rally.
The event was launched by local Minister with responsibility for Agriculture and the Marine Cllr.Michael Creed, the minister added in his speech the importance of Coillte who upkeep and provide the fantastic course for which the rally runs. Opening proceedings Club Chairman Colman Hegarty welcomed the large crowd on behalf of the club and thanked everyone for attending.

Michael Creedon local M.C.C addressed the gathering and welcomed the financial contribution the Rally brings to the area
each year and he stated that he hoped to see the Moonraker in the area for a long time to come. Next up was Aindreas Moynihan T.D again another public figure to endorse the Event and the Munster Car clubs efforts in organising same.

Neil Phelan of Acesigns Cork L.T.D Associate sponsor thanked the committee and the club members of the Moonraker Forestry Rally and wished the organising team led by C.O.C Ger Seaman all the very best for the event.

Next to speak was Michael Creedon of the Abbey Hotel Ballyvourney who gave a brief outline of his role within the sponsorship of the rally and he congratulated the team on the hard work put in again this year to get the Rally up and going. Last to speak was the man at the helm for the first time, C.O.C Gerard Seaman he opened by welcoming everyone and thanked them for taking the time to come along on a Saturday night. He went on to thank his team and stated that the event is now ready to be finalised and is good to go. He made special mention of all the volunteers that come out to marshal the event as well as stage commanders officials, time keepers and anybody else who helps make this fantastic event the real jewel in the crown of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Rally Championship as well as being a counting Round of the Suirway Group South East Stages Rally Championship. He urged the gathering to support the Sponsors in anyway they could and thanked them for their financial assistance.

Mr Seaman went on to add that this year a team from the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship were coming to Ballyvourney to observe the event for a possible inclusion in said Championship.

He concluded that entries were open and included that R.5 Front runners such as Marty McCormack co-driven by County Cork native David Moynihan will be starting in Ballyvourney as will Brendan Comiskey to name but a few, included also are a number of the newly Formulated J1000 category drivers who can drive the forest tracks from the age of 16, in this year's line we also have the Forestry stalwarts from the 2WD Category so all in all very exciting times ahead for the Munster car Club and the Moonraker Forestry Rally.

Entry forms and regulations are now available

The Abbey Hotel Ballyvourney Moonraker Forestry Rally, Round 2 of the 2017 Valvoline Irish Forestry Rally Championship, Round 2 of the Suirway Group South East Stages Rally Championship also a counting round of the Munster Car Club Championship.

Rally Launch - (Sat) 18 Feb 17

Posted: January 14, 2017 4:07 PM

On behalf of the Munster Car Club we cordially invite you all to the Launch of the Abbey Hotel, Moonraker Forestry Rally on Saturday 18th February 2017 at 8pm in the Abbey Hotel, Ballyvourney, Co.Cork.

The Moonraker Rally with its main sponsor , The Abbey Hotel, Ballyvourney is the third round of the Valvoline Irish Forestry Championship 2017.

The rally, based in Ballyvourney once again, will take place on Saturday 8th April 2017 and full details of the event will be provided on the night of the Launch.